1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a utility belt assembly and, more particularly, to a utility belt assembly which facilities non-impaired and/or essentially infinitely variable positioning of accessory items (e.g., a holster for a handgun, an ammunition magazine, a flashlight, a communication device such as a cellular phone and/or two-way radio, tools, etcetera) associated therewith. The utility belt assembly of the present invention is also releasably securable to an article of clothing (e.g., pants, fatigues, capris, shorts, skirts, etcetera) without the use of belt loops.
2. Background Art
Various types of utility belts and associated accessory items have been known in the art for years, and are the subject of a plurality of publications and patents, including, for example: United States Patent Application Publication Number 2011/0240705 entitled “Ergonomic Rotatable Apparatus and Method for Use Thereof to Carry and Store Equipment and Accessories,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,852 entitled “Belt Assembly for Storage and Inventory of Tools,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,092 entitled “Carpenter's Belt with Lumbosacral Support, Looped Interchangeable Pouches, and Snaps for Suspenders,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,781 entitled “Belt or Waistband Mountable Support for Article Carrier,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,540 entitled “Hand Gun Holster Selectably Configured and to be Placed on a Belt,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,455 entitled “Two Part Adjustable Belt with Locking Means,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,410 entitled “Combination Hand Gun Holster and Belt,” and U.S. Pat. No. 3,655,106 entitled “Gunbelt”—all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety including all references cited therein.
United States Patent Application Publication Number 2011/0240705 appears to disclose an ergonomic rotatable apparatus for carrying, storing and accessing accessories and field gear comprising a layered belt rail system and field gear pockets supported thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,852 appears to disclose a tool-carrying assembly to be secured by a waist-encircling belt, and, additionally, by straps encircling the legs of a workman using the belt assembly. The assembly is thus stabilized, and enhanced weight distribution is achieved. Elements of the belt assembly include a waist-encircling band supporting a pair of laterally spaced, depending panels each carrying tool-accepting pockets. The pockets carry visual markings and coding as well as other indicia identifying the specific tools to be “housed” or carried in and to be returned to each pocket after use. Inventory control of the tools is thereby enhanced. Pivotal flaps depending from the band-carried panels serve to cover the tools when not in use, and to prevent the tools from scratching or otherwise marring any article, fixture, or “workpiece” requiring the workman's attention. The panels and the tools carried thereby are disposed in lateral, spaced zones at the wearer's sides (and not directly in the front of one's body) thus further to reduce any likelihood of the tools coming into damaging physical contact with an article being worked upon. That is, both frontal and rearwardly located zones about the wearer of the tool belt assembly are rendered essentially free and clear of all tools and other mechanical impediments. While wearing the tool assembly of the invention, a worker can, without any discomfort, lie upon and use a “creeper.” A frontal sector of the belt itself is covered with a relatively soft, non-marring protective pad, composition, or surface material effective to prevent possible damage from a workman's belt buckle. An additional feature of the invention is that the panels may be structured to constitute a core sandwiched between a pair of encasing sheet-like webs. The resulting composite is readily formable to provide selectable visual patterns, designs or indicia, for example, to identify product name or sources and/or to constitute decorations.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,092 appears to disclose a rigid carpenter's belt with lumbosacral support that includes end sections to accept a plurality of interchangeable looped carpenter pouches with Velcro strips to attach the pouches to corresponding Velcro strips on the carpenter belt. The belt comprises a belt structure of leather having a buckle on one end and holes in the other end to form a releasable coupling and a central section of increased height, cephalad and caudoly, to provide lumbosacral support extending laterally within the central section and fabricated of foamlike material covered with split leather. Laterally disposed on opposite sides of the lumbosacral support.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,781 appears to disclose a mounting device for suspending a holster or other article carrier from a wearer's waistband or belt which is a U-shaped paddle member in one version for hooking over a wearer's waistband, and a plate with slots for receiving a belt in another version. Both the plate and one leg of the paddle member are provided with a pivot opening for receiving a first, pivotal fastener for pivotally connecting the devices to a holster, and a pair of arcuate slots positioned symmetrically one on each side of the pivot opening for receiving a pair of releasable fasteners for securing the holster in a selected angular position. The other leg of the paddle member is of arrowhead-like shape with its free end slightly pointed for easy insertion into the waistband, and a pair of inwardly directed barbs for fitting under the waistband to resist inadvertent pulling up and dislodging of the member. The plate can be rotated 180 degrees when the releasable fasteners are removed between a high ride and a low ride position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,540 appears to disclose a hand gun holster to operationally hold a thirty eight revolver, an automatic pistol or another hand gun, that has a pair of belt loops made of polypropylene medium weight webbing in turn positioned and supported by a pair of curvable assemblies of heavy weight nylon webbing having sewn thereon respectively and cooperatively spaced heavy duty nap, (i.e., loop and hook fastening materials), with these pair of curvable assemblies being arranged in alignment to receive and to hold an automatic pistol, and being arranged perpendicularly to receive and to hold a thirty eight revolver.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,455 appears to disclose an adjustable two-part belt with locking means comprising elongated belt members which overlap each other and transverse members connected to the ends of the overlapping portions of the belt members and at least partially encircling the corresponding portions of the belt members. At least one of the transverse members includes a clamp means in the form of a metallic strip which encircles at least a portion of the overlapping belt members and which is bendable to clamp the overlapping portions of the belt members against each other to maintain the length adjustment of the belt. The metallic strip means is preferably in a C-shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,410 appears to disclose a combination handgun holster and belt. The combination comprises a holster having inner and outer side panels that assist in forming a tapering configuration for conformably receiving a handgun. The holster has an open end for insertion and withdrawal therethrough of the gun. The belt is attached to the inner side panel of the holster and suspends the holster on one side of the waist of a person. A retaining member is provided having first and second ends. The member is attached at the first end to the outer side panel of the open end of the holster. A means is provided for detachably mounting the second end of the retaining member to the belt. Thus when the retaining member is mounted to the belt the handgun is safely retained in the holster and cannot be withdrawn therefrom. A release means is provided which is attached to the belt for automatically detaching the retaining member from the belt. The release means is adapted to be activated by the hand opposite the side from which the holster is suspended. Thus when the retaining member is released from the belt the gun can be withdrawn from the holster. Such a combination holster and belt prevents the accidental removal of the gun from the holster, (e.g., in a chase, etcetera), or the removal of the gun from the holster by a person other than the person wearing the holster.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,655,106 appears to disclose a detachable holding device for an implement, particularly a weapon, to be carried, in diagonal position, by means of a sling arrangement, on the upper body, with at least one strap shackle, or the like, to which the holding device is attached, characterized by a preferably plate-shaped part, onto which a locking member made, preferably, of flexible material, may be slid on, which serves to maintain the part in the inserted position on the strap shackle, and provided with a flange which does not pass through the strap shackle, to which is connected a suspending member which, with the suspending of the implement, serves to engage into a fastening device provided on the sling arrangement.
While the above-identified publications and patents do appear to disclose various types of utility belt assemblies, their configurations remain problematic for a plurality or reasons, including, but not limited to, limited positioning of accessory items and limited adaptability and/or securement to an article of clothing—among other things.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a utility belt assembly that, among other things, remedies the aforementioned detriments and/or complications associated with the use of the above-identified, utility belt assemblies and associated accessories and articles of clothing.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent in light of the present specification, claims, and appended drawings.